*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of talk

From Middle English talken, talkien, from Old English *tealcian (“to talk, chat”), from Proto-West Germanic *talkōn, from Proto-Germanic *talkōną (“to talk, chatter”), frequentative form of Proto-Germanic *talōną (“to co

2 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 2 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗
verb

To communicate, usually by means of speech. · To discuss; to talk about. · To speak (a certain language). · Used to emphasise the importance, size, complexity etc. of the thing mentioned.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Middle English talken, talkien, from Old English *tealcian (“to talk, chat”), from Proto-West Germanic *talkōn, from Proto-Germanic *talkōną (“to talk, chatter”), frequentative form of Proto-Germanic *talōną (“to count, recount, tell”), from Proto-Indo-European *dol-, *del- (“to aim, calculate, adjust, count”), equivalent to tell + -k. Cognates Cognate with Low German taalken (“to chatter, gossip, talk”). Related also to Bavarian zoin (“to pay”), Cimbrian zaln (“to pay”), Dutch talen (“to care, long; to speak; to say”), German zahlen (“to pay”), Mòcheno zoln (“to pay”), Danish and Norwegian Bokmål tale (“to talk, speak”), Faroese, Icelandic, and Swedish tala (“to speak, talk”), Norwegian Nynorsk tala (“to speak, talk”); also Latin dolus (“deceit, deception, fraud, guile, treachery, trickery; malice; artifice, device, stratagem”), Ancient Greek δόλος (dólos, “deceit, trick; wiles; bait”), Armenian տող (toġ, “line (in a text)”). More at tale. Despite the surface similarity, unrelated to Proto-Indo-European *telkʷ- (“to talk”) (due to Grimm's law), which is the source of loquacious.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Inherited-form mentiontalkenenm
  • Inherited-form mention*tealcianang · to talk, chat
  • Inherited-form mention*talkōngmw-pro
  • Inherited-form mention*talkōnągem-pro · to talk, chatter
  • Derivation mention*talōnągem-pro · to count, recount, tell
  • Derivation mention*dol-ine-pro
  • Cognate mentiontaalkennds · to chatter, gossip, talk
  • Cognate mentionzoinbar · to pay
  • Cognate mentionzalncim · to pay
  • Cognate mentiontalennl · to care, long; to speak; to say
  • Cognate mentionzahlende · to pay
  • Cognate mentionzolnmhn · to pay
  • Cognate mentiontalann · to speak, talk
  • Cognate mentiondolusla · deceit, deception, fraud, guile, treachery, trickery; malice; artifice, device, stratagem
  • Cognate mentionδόλοςgrc · deceit, trick; wiles; bait
  • Cognate mentionտողhy · line (in a text)

This page abbreviates 5 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":inh",
        "3": "enm:talken<ety:inh<ang:*tealcian<ety:inh<gmw-pro:*talkōn>>>>"
      },
      "expansion": "[Appendix:Glossary#derived_terms|Derived]] from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*delH-\", \"status\" : \"missing\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\", \"pos\" : \"root\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"derived\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*talō\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"gem-pro\" }, { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"suf\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"collective nouns\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"collective nouns\", \"children\" : [ ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*-h₂\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\", \"pos\" : \"suffix originally used to form collective nouns, extended in Late PIE to also be a marker of feminine gender\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"keyword\" : \"from\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*-éh₂\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" }, { \"id\" : \"intransitive verbs\", \"children\" : [ ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*-yéti\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"is_group\" : true, \"keyword\" : \"affix\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*-eh₂yéti\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" }, { \"id\" : \"factitive verb\", \"children\" : [ ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*-h₂ti\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*-ōną\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"gem-pro\" } ], \"is_group\" : true, \"keyword\" : \"afeq\", \"is_invisible\" : \"all\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*talōną\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"gem-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" }, { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"is_duplicate\" : true, \"children\" : [ ], \"status\" : [ \"gem-pro\", \":der\", \"ine-pro:*delH-<pos:root>\" ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*talō\", \"lang\" : \"gem-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-West Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*talu\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"gmw-pro\" }, { \"id\" : \"denominative\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"is_duplicate\" : true, \"children\" : [ ], \"status\" : { \"1\" : \"gem-pro\", \"2\" : \":inh\", \"3\" : \"ine-pro:*-eh₂yéti<id:suf>\", \"4\" : \"ine-pro:*-h₂ti<id:factitive verb>\", \"id\" : \"verbal\", \"pos\" : \"suffix\" }, \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*-ōną\", \"lang\" : \"gem-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-West Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*-ōn\", \"lang\" : \"gmw-pro\" } ], \"is_group\" : true, \"keyword\" : \"afeq\", \"is_invisible\" : \"all\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-West Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*talōn\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"gmw-pro\" }, { \"children\" : [ ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-West Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*-ukōn\", \"status\" : \"missing\", \"lang\" : \"gmw-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"is_group\" : true, \"keyword\" : \"affix\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-West Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*talkōn\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"gmw-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Old English\", \"term\" : \"*tealcian\", \"status\" : \"inline\", \"lang\" : \"ang\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Middle English\", \"term\" : \"talken\", \"status\" : \"inline\", \"lang\" : \"enm\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"talk\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"talk\">"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "talken"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English talken"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "*tealcian",
        "t": "to talk, chat"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English *tealcian (“to talk, chat”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gmw-pro",
        "3": "*talkōn"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *talkōn"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*talkōną",
        "t": "to talk, chatter"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *talkōną (“to talk, chatter”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*talōną",
        "t": "to count, recount, tell"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *talōną (“to count, recount, tell”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*dol-"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *dol-"
    },
    {
      "name": "col-top",
      "args": {
        "1": "2",
        "2": "cog"
      },
      "expansion": "Cognates"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nds",
        "2": "taalken",
        "t": "to chatter, gossip, talk"
      },
      "expansion": "Low German taalken (“to chatter, gossip, talk”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "bar",
        "2": "zoin",
        "t": "to pay"
      },
      "expansion": "Bavarian zoin (“to pay”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "cim",
        "2": "zaln",
        "t": "to pay"
      },
      "expansion": "Cimbrian zaln (“to pay”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "talen",
        "t": "to care, long; to speak; to say"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch talen (“to care, long; to speak; to say”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "zahlen",
        "t": "to pay"
      },
      "expansion": "German zahlen (“to pay”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "mhn",
        "2": "zoln",
        "t": "to pay"
      },
      "expansion": "Mòcheno zoln (“to pay”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "da,nb",
        "2": "tale",
        "t": "to talk, speak"
      },
      "expansion": "Danish and Norwegian Bokmål tale (“to talk, speak”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "fo,is,sv",
        "2": "tala",
        "t": "to speak, talk"
      },
      "expansion": "Faroese, Icelandic, and Swedish tala (“to speak, talk”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nn",
        "2": "tala",
        "t": "to speak, talk"
      },
      "expansion": "Norwegian Nynorsk tala (“to speak, talk”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "la",
        "2": "dolus",
        "t": "deceit, deception, fraud, guile, treachery, trickery; malice; artifice, device, stratagem"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin dolus (“deceit, deception, fraud, guile, treachery, trickery; malice; artifice, device, stratagem”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "grc",
        "2": "δόλος",
        "t": "deceit, trick; wiles; bait"
      },
      "expansion": "Ancient Greek δόλος (dólos, “deceit, trick; wiles; bait”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "hy",
        "2": "տող",
        "t": "line (in a text)"
      },
      "expansion": "Armenian տող (toġ, “line (in a text)”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "noncog",
      "args": {
        "1": "ine-pro",
        "2": "*telkʷ-",
        "t": "to talk"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *telkʷ- (“to talk”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":inh",
        "3": "enm:talken<ety:inh<ang:*tealcian<ety:inh<gmw-pro:*talkōn>>>>"
      },
      "expansion": ""
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "talken",
      "talken#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "talkien",
      "talkien#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "*tealcian",
      "Reconstruction:Old English/tealcian"
    ],
    [
      "*talkōn",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/talkōn"
    ],
    [
      "*talkōną",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/talkōną"
    ],
    [
      "*talōną",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/talōną"
    ],
    [
      "*dol-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/dol-"
    ],
    [
      "*del-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/del-"
    ],
    [
      "tell",
      "tell#English"
    ],
    [
      "-k",
      "-k#English"
    ],
    [
      "taalken",
      "taalken#Low_German"
    ],
    [
      "zoin",
      "zoin#Bavarian"
    ],
    [
      "zaln",
      "zaln#Cimbrian"
    ],
    [
      "talen",
      "talen#Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "zahlen",
      "zahlen#German"
    ],
    [
      "zoln",
      "zoln#Mòcheno"
    ],
    [
      "Danish",
      "tale#Danish"
    ],
    [
      "tale",
      "tale#Norwegian_Bokmål"
    ],
    [
      "Faroese",
      "tala#Faroese"
    ],
    [
      "Icelandic",
      "tala#Icelandic"
    ],
    [
      "tala",
      "tala#Swedish"
    ],
    [
      "tala",
      "tala#Norwegian_Nynorsk"
    ],
    [
      "dolus",
      "dolus#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "δόλος",
      "δόλος#Ancient_Greek"
    ],
    [
      "տող",
      "տող#Armenian"
    ],
    [
      "tale",
      "tale#English"
    ],
    [
      "*telkʷ-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/telkʷ-"
    ],
    [
      "loquacious",
      "loquacious#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To communicate, usually by means of speech.",
        "To discuss; to talk about.",
        "To speak (a certain language).",
        "Used to emphasise the importance, size, complexity etc. of the thing mentioned."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "intransitive",
        "informal",
        "transitive"
      ],
      "recordId": "5a0221cfdcd3002d18a13e6f6fa6e12b197602363c5f6f6457e891b45bc98044",
      "rawRecordSha256": "00925c95e9435b091e847088e7be96b5f51de80f986688ee861ed321882b2f6a",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 23074
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 5,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
noun

A conversation or discussion; usually serious, but informal. · A lecture. · Gossip; rumour. · A major topic of social discussion.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Middle English talk, talke (“conversation; discourse”), from the verb (see above).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Inherited-form mentiontalkenm

This page abbreviates 4 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "talk"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English talk"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "talk",
      "talk#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "talke",
      "talke#Middle_English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A conversation or discussion; usually serious, but informal.",
        "A lecture.",
        "Gossip; rumour.",
        "A major topic of social discussion."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "countable",
        "uncountable"
      ],
      "recordId": "1e7a6f8fb18b8caffaa87d4273aac642f84033125e388eeb663d9221dfe21634",
      "rawRecordSha256": "4de794ca0d983787d0a42044305441fe679e065a10fb4fa804762628065b740b",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 23075
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 4,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for talk →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
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Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-dGFsaw